FRACKVILLE - A Marine Corps staff sergeant severely injured during his second deployment to Afghanistan will be honored during a public social event at Broad Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation on Aug. 24, with the hope that funds can also be raised toward a new home for he and his family.
A native of Statesville, N.C., Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jeremy Austin, 30, served three tours of duty in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. During his last tour, he lost both of his legs in an improvised explosive device attack.
He was driving an up-armored Humvee on April 11, 2009, while returning from a mounted patrol in the Helmand Province. He was thrown from the vehicle in the explosion, but not before the floorboards mangled his legs and fractured his pelvis, elbow, ribs, wrist and nose. His fellow Marines saved his life, getting him transported to a British field hospital where it was necessary to surgically amputate his legs.
"The explosion destroyed the truck," Austin said. "There were five of us in the truck. The truck took the brunt of it and I got the rest. My door weighed about 150 pounds and it was thrown a couple of hundred meters away. The engine was thrown ahead of the truck 400 to 500 meters."
Some of his fellow Marines suffered injuries, but Austin got the worst of it and was unconscious when brought to a military camp.
"I remember waking up on a gurney with doctors and nurses around me, not really knowing where I was and what happened. I looked down and saw my legs were gone, and then going out again," Austin said. "The next thing I remember was being in Germany."
He was transported to Landstuhl, Germany, after which he returned to the United States for three corrective surgeries at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, then transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for rehabilitation and therapy since it had the facilities to deal with amputations and prosthetics.
"Everything is still a little fuzzy and it's 2 1/2 years later. I remember little bits and pieces, but it's still pretty broken up."
Austin is married to Crissy Yeager Austin, 30, who is a native of Fountain Springs and also a former Marine sergeant. They met in the Marines, having served in the same company. Jeremy said "nature took its course" and the couple married on Dec. 23, 2002.
Together with their son, Dylan, 7, they were residing in Ashland since 2007 before moving this month to Virginia, where they await construction of a specially adapted home in Pulaski, Va.
The home is being built by Homes for Our Troops, a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization founded in 2004 committed to military veterans who have suffered serious disabilities and injuries since Sept. 11, 2001. The new homes are provided at no charge to those veterans, with costs offset through donations of building materials and labor from contractors and companies and monetary donations from individuals and groups.
The connection between Austin and Broad Mountain is CNA Diane Yeager, Fountain Springs, who is Chrissy Austin's aunt. When learning about Homes for Our Troops, she spoke to management about allowing an event that could help the cause.
Life Enrichment Assistant Mary Towey said the event will be informal for people to thank Austin for his service.
"We'll have a social from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 with light refreshments in honoring our hero," Towey said. "Everyone is invited, but reservations must be made."
The deadline to call Broad Mountain at 874-0696 with an interest in attending is Monday, Towey said. The social will be held outdoors, but will be moved inside in case of inclement weather.
"The PEER advocates and the residents have been helping with the event," Towey said.
The Schuylkill County PEERs (Pennsylvania's Empowered Expert Residents) is an advocacy program for residents in nursing homes, personal care homes, and older adult day care centers. Yeager said that raffle tickets are being sold, and the PEERs and others are contacting the local veterans organizations.
"This is most wonderful feeling I ever had. God bless you," said PEER advocate Margaret Zamonsky to Austin.
Jeremy and Crissy, who is expecting another child, are thankful for the help the Broad Mountain residents and staff are doing for them.
"It means the world to me and my family that there are people in America like the people who are here at Broad Mountain to do this for us," Jeremy Austin said. "My wife's aunt, Diane, genuinely cares, like a lot of other people around this area who just want to help out. It's awesome because the way things are in the country and the world today, there are not a lot of people who are willing to openly voice their concern and their support in wanting to give back something to service members. It speaks volumes since it shows a lot of patriotism and a lot of thankfulness on their part."
To learn more about Austin, Homes for Our Troops, and how to donate to the project, go to www.homesforourtroops.org/austin. The goal is $10,000, with $1,935 donated so far.